He dropped the ribbon into the final bath of blue.
“Look!” Lin gasped. “The blue is disappearing! And… is that copper metal?” chemistry form 4 experiment 5.1
The solution turned from vibrant blue to a pale, cloudy colourless. The reddish-brown solid was pure, elemental copper. Zinc was the hero. He dropped the ribbon into the final bath of blue
Lin nodded, swirling the last of the pale, colourless solution down the sink. “That’s not war,” she smiled. “That’s displacement. And now we know how to prove who belongs where.” And… is that copper metal
Later, as they washed the test tubes, Ravi looked at the reddish-brown copper residue stuck to the glass. “It’s like a chemical war,” he said. “The strong kick the weak out of their homes.”
The experiment was simple, yet dangerous to a careless hand. Procedure 5.1: Investigate the reaction of metals with the salt solution of another metal.
The more reactive metal (magnesium or zinc) acts as the displacer, while the less reactive metal (copper) is displaced. The reactivity series is not just a list—it is a hierarchy of chemical power.